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The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. to Pay $112,000 Civil Penalty for Selling Flammable Bathrobes

Release Date: November 12, 1998

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. (Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman), of Chestnut Hill, Mass., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $112,500 to settle allegations that it violated both the federal Flammable Fabrics Act and the Consumer Product Safety Act by selling flammable bathrobes.

CPSC alleges that between 1988 and 1997, The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. sold or offered for sale approximately 6,500 EGERIA terry cloth bathrobes that were highly flammable. CPSC also alleges that The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. failed to report in a timely manner the flammability risk presented by the robes. CPSC's investigation has revealed that Neiman Marcus had received five reports of bathrobes igniting, resulting in two minor burn injuries, before it reported to CPSC.

In agreeing to settle this matter, The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. denies that it violated either the federal Flammable Fabrics Act or the Consumer Product Safety Act. The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. voluntarily recalled the EGERIA bathrobes in March 1997. For more information about the recall, consumers should call Neiman Marcus at (800) 685-6695 or Bergdorf Goodman at (800) 218-4918.

Release Number
99-019

About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products. 

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